Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin is on baby watch heading into Sunday night's Cracker Barrel 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, and if the baby arrives within the race window, he has confirmed that the birth of the child, his third with longtime partner Jordan Fish, is the priority.
The couple are expecting their first son.
With the driver of the No. 11 Toyota, who qualified second in Saturday afternoon's qualifying session alongside teammate Chase Briscoe, not guaranteed to compete in Sunday night's 300-lap race around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval, Ryan Truex has been confirmed as the driver who would replace him, if need be.
#NASCAR … Ryan Truex will be here at Nashville with Denny Hamlin on baby watch. … the 11 team was scheduled to do the Iowa tire test next week but teammate Chase Briscoe will do it now.
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) May 31, 2025
Ryan Truex to replace Denny Hamlin at Nashville, if needed
Truex, the younger brother of former Cup Series champion and former Hamlin teammate Martin Truex Jr., most recently attempted to compete at the Cup level in the 2019 Daytona 500, but he failed to qualify for Tommy Baldwin Racing. He has not competed in a Cup Series race since the September 2014 race at Chicagoland Speedway, when he drove for BK Racing.
Truex has made just one NASCAR national series start this year, with that coming in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, where he placed 17th for Sam Hunt Racing.
The 33-year-old Mayetta, New Jersey native is a three-time Xfinity Series race winner, with all three wins coming in 2023 and 2024 for Joe Gibbs Racing as a part-time driver. He has two wins at Dover International Speedway and one at Daytona International Speedway.
He has made two carerr national series starts at Nashville. He finished in 16th place in the Xfinity Series for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in 2011, and he finished in 26th in the Truck Series for Niece Motorsports in 2021.
Amazon Prime Video is set to provide live coverage of Sunday night's Cracker Barrel 400 from Nashville Superspeedway starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.